This has been one of the craziest years that I can remember at the Disneyland Resort. So much has opened, changed, and happened that it is hard to take stock of it all. Sleeping Beauty Castle underwent a five-month refurbishment. The Get Your Ears On Celebration became the celebration we never knew we needed until it happened. The long anticipated Star Wars Land – Galaxy’s Edge opened at the end of May. The Haunted Mansion, celebrated it’s 50th anniversary. Flik’s Flyers made a comeback of sorts with the recently opened Emotional Whirlwind in DCA. Tangaroa Terrace got a makeover at the Disneyland Hotel. D23 came and went. It truly was a great year at the Disneyland Resort – it’s not every year that we get a Cheeseburger with sliders for Mickey ears!
Star Wars
While we mainly focus on food, for those who follow us closely you’ll know we love the entire Disneyland Resort including the attractions, architecture, shows, shops (you know we love that merch!), and character meet ‘n greet opportunities. One intellectual property in particular holds a special place in my heart – Star Wars. Star Wars represents my favorite childhood memories. Sharing it with the people I love. I don’t think I was ever as excited for something at Disneyland as the day that Galaxy’s Edge opened. We were able to get a reservation for the 8 p.m. time slot on opening day and it was a day that I’ll never forget. I was paranoid and got the entire family up and to the parking structure by 5:30 a.m. It turned out that people who didn’t have a Galaxy’s Edge reservation were scared away, fearing massive crowds. Taking a step back – if you were to go back in time and tell my younger self that Disneyland would open an entire land devoted to Star Wars I would have been ecstatic – to put it mildly. The future will be here next month – Rise of the Resistance ride is opening on January 17th and my anticipation is nearly equal to back on May 31st when Galaxy’s Edge opened. Words can’t do justice to the feeling I had when I walked past Oga’s Cantina and saw a real life Millenium Falcon in front of my eyes. Galaxy’s Edge is truly a special place.
The MCU
Another thing to look forward to is Avengers Campus. I also love the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so the forthcoming Avengers Campus has me brimming with anticipation. We were bummed to see Bug’s Land leave at least Disney is putting the time, energy, and money into another E-Ticket level land to replace it. We got early looks at the blueprint of the land at D23 and it looks absolutely spectacular. I am going to go out on a limb and guess that people will love it 3,000.
Magic Happens
Lastly, beginning on February 28th there will be a new and exciting parade for us to enjoy – Magic Happens. According to Shawn Slater of the Disney Parks Blog “Magic Happens celebrates awe-inspiring moments of magic. Mickey Mouse leads this new daytime spectacular down Main Street, U.S.A., revealing a parade of stunning floats, beautiful costumes and beloved Disney characters.”
Conclusion
Walt declared that Disneyland would never be finished – he wasn’t lying. Consequently, we have a lot to look forward to. We are in for a treat as the Disneyland Resort continues to evolve. Here’s hoping that in 2019 the food, fun, and thrills will be as plentiful as they were in 2019. What are you looking forward to the most?